He was scheduled to play yesterday, but the rain made the field slick and the team didn’t want to take any chances with his knee. Everything is fine with Utley, he’s in good shape, making good contact, they just want to make sure he is good for opening day.

70 spring at bats is the usual standard that managers seem to like their hitters to get. Charlie said he wasn’t that concerned about it with Chase.

He might have to get his timing perfected, but his at bats look pretty good so far, so I’d say even at this pace most of the spring, he’ll be ready. Maybe a little more playing time the very last week.

It is good to see that he has the power to hit a ball that far, regardless of who was pitching and the meaninglessness of the game. His power, which disappeared with the hamate bone injury two years ago, looks to be back.

Just as a point of conversation, not to imply meaning, I remember a spring game I believe 2 years ago when he hit 2 homers in a game, 1 a shot. People seem to be expressing opinions based on his ability, and mismanagement of him.I think it’s just a matter of staying healthy, although I’m not saying that separates him from stardom.

Anyway, I’m glad he’s got you to cautiously optimistic, because I know you have doubts.

And another solid hit while I was writing it. Wish they’d just leave him alone and let him play, but his nice start’s already getting a good amount of attention, and won’t stop.

I am certainly a Domonic Brown guy and I will tell you why because this is a baseball forum that’s what we do here… I’ll tell you what I have seen from him so far and why I think he’s going to have a nice career.

No doubt the kid has bullied minor league pitching… he has obliterated the minors in a way that only special players can do. The more comfortable he got, the better he was and overall he has done a lot of things very well in the minors. He has done some things well at the big league level, too… he’s scored runs at a decent clip, he’s driven in runs at a decent clip, he’s shown a pretty good batter’s eye. Step one in his development – the loopy swing needed to get shortened and he did that – shortening the swing sapped some power (as did the broken hand) but as he gets comfortable with the approach and as he gets his health, he should get most of that raw power back. Step two – his defense was a mixed bag – he had to work on his routes and his glove work but the arm was always there (as was the raw talent). We’ve all seen progress in the field and that’s very encouraging. It tells me that he’s aware of the fact that he’s not there yet and he wants to get better. He is a confident kid… borderline cocky but that’s what you want. You want a guy that believes in his abilities – that will swing the bat and carry the team. I’m excited… I just want to see the Phillies give him the chance to work through his strugles adjusting to life as an every day player, if they happen (because they usually do).

I don’t think he is Lastings Milledge, AWF… I know that the popular thing to do is to give up on him but I think he’s primed for a good year and I’m still pretty optimistic. That doesn’t mean the Phillies didn’t butcher the situation BUT given the fact that Dom wasn’t necessarily a baseball player coming into this thing (it was sort of his second sport), it’s pretty reasonable to come to the conclusion that his development was likely going to be slower than the kid that focused on baseball his whole life. Throw in a hand surgery… yeah, there are good reasons why he’s not further along but we should still be optimistic. Sink or swin season, for sure.